NTSB report on 2011 plane crash that killed Santa Cruz family released

By Jason Hoppin, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:
11/01/2013 10:02:22 AM PDT

Updated:
11/01/2013 10:10:40 AM PDT

WATSONVILLE -- A pilot's fateful decision to take off toward fog and then try to turn quickly away from it -- possibly compounded by the failure of a key backup safety measure -- appears to be a major factor in a deadly 2011 plane crash near Watsonville Community Hospital.

The July 7 tragedy claimed the lives of a Santa Cruz couple, David and Dede Houghton, and their two sons, Luke and Ryan. The four were headed to a family vacation in Groveland when their Mooney M-20F fell out of the sky shortly after takeoff, struck a parking lot and skidded into medical offices, where the wreckage burst into flames.

According to recently released factual findings by the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was climbing and turning at a relatively low speed, a potentially fatal combination. It appears the pilot -- who was licensed to fly by visual cues only -- was trying to avoid fog.

"There's always a lesson to be learned, and if you're not instrument-rated and you're not current to fly on instruments, then don't fly near the (marine) stratus," said Dan Chauvet, a longtime local pilot familiar with the airport. "Don't take off toward it."

David Houghton had earned his pilot's license less than three months before the crash, but amassed an unusually large amount of flight experience in a short amount of time. The report makes no conclusions, including if weather, inexperience or mechanical problems contributed to the crash.

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FATAL DECISION

On that day, Houghton checked the weather twice and was advised that a marine layer had socked in the area. While the weather at takeoff directly over Watsonville Municipal Airport was clear, a thick summer marine layer hovered over Highway 1, just south of one of two runways.'

Rather than take off from a second runway that runs east-west, Houghton tried to take off toward the fog and then steer away from it. Eyewitnesses noted a steep climb and rapid descent, the plane narrowly missing an expectant father in the hospital parking lot.

The NTSB report confirmed indications that the engine was developing "significant power" at impact, with ground scars showing that plane was relatively level and upright at impact. It suggests the Houghtons nearly escaped a tragedy that shocked the county.

One problem with turning into a bank is that it increases the speed a plane must fly to avoid stalling. The NTSB calculated that just prior to the Mooney's dive, its airspeed descended from 73 to 55 mph -- both below what's needed to keep that type of plane airborne during a 40-degree bank.

"Guys do steep banks all the time, but they don't normally do them at slow speeds," Chauvet said. "You get over 30 degrees, you get to 45 degrees, and the stall speed goes way up."

Houghton earned his pilot's license on March 17, 2011 -- the third time in five weeks he'd taken the test. On the second exam, one area deemed unsatisfactory was "Performance Maneuver -- Steep Turns," though that skill gives many new pilots difficulty.

FUN FAMILY

There were not many things that held the Houghton family back. While David Houghton paid the family bills through an environmental services company, the family's love was Aqua Safaris, the Soquel dive shop they owned and through which they led local divers on worldwide expeditions.

The Mooney was flown to Mexico in April 2011, where its landing gear doors were damaged on a dirt runway. While the report doesn't say if Houghton piloted an international flight a month after getting his license, the Houghtons did live in Mexico for a year.

That was the second time the landing gear doors were damaged, and they were later removed altogether. The plane's surviving co-owner said there was "never any noticeable flight deterioration" without those doors, but it wasn't the only mechanical problem with the plane.

Built in 1974, the Mooney's stall warning switch was replaced in 2003. Standard on planes, such system give pilots a warning if they are verging on a potentially deadly stall.

Maintenance records show a 2007 effort to troubleshoot an "inoperable" stall warning system, and the co-owner told NTSB investigators that he and Houghton considered the system "totally useless."

It also doesn't appear that the 2003 replacement system was ever tested in-flight. The NTSB recovered the warning horn from the wreckage and verified that it could sound when power was applied.

What is not known is if Houghton -- who was wearing noise-cancelling headphones, which may or may not have been turned on -- ever heard the horn, or even if it sounded at all.

"(T)he investigation was unable to determine the accuracy of the system as installed on the accident airplane," the NTSB's report said. "The accuracy of the stall warning system can only be verified in flight, and cannot be determined by any ground-based means."

The factual findings are not conclusions, but can point toward the NTSB's eventual determination of probable cause. That finding is expected in about a month.

"The goal is to issue it within 30 days of the factual report," said Michael Huhn, the NTSB's lead investigator on the case.